Wall Of Fame: Hazaribag's tribal art adds refreshing touch to US spa

Rukmani Devi of Dipugarha, Jasodha Devi and Sugiya Devi of Kharati village in Barkagaon village of Hazaribag district would never have imagined that their tribal art of painting mud houses would be used in a spa in the USA or a hotel in London.

| TNN | Updated: Dec 13, 2016, 09:54 IST

RANCHI: Rukmani Devi of Dipugarha, Jasodha Devi and Sugiya Devi of Kharati village in Barkagaon village of Hazaribag district would never have imagined that their tribal art of painting mud houses would be used in a spa in the USA or a hotel in London.
Laura Aviva, self-made entrepreneur from the USA, was attracted by the black and white wall paintings of a tribal village in Hazaribag when it got published in a magazine -The World of Interiors in its December 2014 issue. Noted architecture cum photographer Deidi Vonshoven had captured the mud houses of the tribal villagers, which was later published with an article titled "monsoon murals'. Aviva contacted the women artists of Tribal Women Artists Cooperative (TWAC) and decided to enter into a copyright contract for purchasing the art.

It was not easy for the designers in USA to translate the wall paintings into fabric and wall papers. It was, after several months of effort, that three designs - Leaf, Vine and Flower of the Khovar wall painting - were reproduced by computer designing in San Francisco which then went for printing.

"Khovar is a traditional art form of the tribals in Jharkhand, which is significant for decoration of homes during marriages. Though the art involves use of charcoal and mud to paint the walls, and thereafter the designs are carved using a comb, it was a tough challenge copying them on canvas for display in international art galleries," said Gustav, post-graduate in museum science from the University of East Anglia, Cambridge.

Five such art work by the tribal women have been gifted by TWAC to add to the collection in Cambridge museum of archaeology recently. The wall papers, cushion covers, home furnishing, curtains, bed and pillow covers are now available for sale on L Avivas' online store, which also describes the inherent relevance of Khovar paintings of Jharkhand.

"We learnt Khovar painting from our parents and forefathers and wanted to show it to others after joining TWAC," Rukmani Devi said.

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